Bob MacIntyre vows to never give out 'false impressions' in his new circles

Bob MacIntyre is determined to be, well, Bob MacIntyre whether he’s in the company of major winners, Ryder Cup captains and players or his pals at home in Oban.

Bob MacIntyre in action in last week's Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

The young Scot has made the same big impression off the golf course as he has on it in his rapid rise up the world rankings, having broken into the top 50 for the first time on Monday.

His demeanour, as well as his game, is one of the reasons why seasoned campaigner Paul Casey said he would feel “very comfortable” standing beside MacIntyre on the first tee at the Ryder Cup in September.

“Yeah, it is good,” admitted the 24-year-old, speaking ahead of his appearance in this week’s Saudi International, of hearing that.

“But I treat everyone the same, whether it is Paul or one of my pals out here, Davy Law, Grant Forrest, anyone.

“I try to treat them exactly the same, whether they are Ryder Cup captains, major winners or one of my pals kicking about the streets in Oban.

“There is no difference. I don’t change around them. I treat them the same way and I feel that is a big thing as they are not getting any false impressions from me.”

MacIntyre is on course to make his Masters debut in April after climbing eight spots to 44th in the world rankings on the back of his third-place finish behind Casey in Dubai.

A run of four straight bogeys around the turn in the final round scuppered the Scot’s hopes of backing up his breakthrough win in the Cyprus Showdown in November, but he’s hoping to be back in the mix this week in the third and final leg of the European Tour’s Middle East Swing.

“Obviously I was disappointed to finish third,” he said, reflecting on his effort at Emirates Golf Club. “When you’re that close to winning, you always want to get over the line.

“But it was another valuable experience and I need to try to take all the positives and learn from what I did wrong and hopefully the next time I get a chance, we can go again. Who knows, it might even be this week.

"The bit that annoys me is I lost it between the ears. My belief had gone a wee bit and I started to get a wee bit tentative over the putts.

“You can’t do that when you’re trying to win a golf tournament. It hit me at just the wrong time.”

Referring to a missed short par putt, he added: “At the eighth hole I fully expected to pick the ball out of hole and that rocked me big time.”

MacIntyre missed the cut 12 months ago at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, but he has returned to the venue on the Red Sea coast with a totally different attitude.

“Last year after Saudi, I knew I had to put the work in again,” he said. “In the middle of last year I was getting lazy and pretty much not bothering my backside to put it right.

“So I just felt I had to go away and work on it and me and Davey [Burns, his coach] put some good work in. Now I realise I am working harder than I’ve ever worked.”

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